James A. Secord's Books

Victorian Sensation

The Extraordinary Publication, Reception, and Secret Authorship of Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation

By: James A. Secord

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Victorian Sensation

The Extraordinary Publication, Reception, and Secret Authorship of Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation

By: James A. Secord

Fiction or philosophy, profound knowledge or shocking heresy? When Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation was published anonymously in 1844, it sparked one of the greatest sensations of the Victorian era. More than a hundred thousand readers were spellbound by its startling vision—an account of the world that extended from the formation of the solar system to the spiritual destiny of humanity. As gripping as a popular novel, Vestiges combined all the current scientific theories in fields ranging from astronomy and geology to psychology and economics. The book was banned, it was damned, it was hailed as the gospel for a new age. This is where our own public controversies about evolution began. In a pioneering cultural history, James A. Secord uses the story of Vestiges to create a panoramic portrait of life in the early industrial era from the perspective of its readers. We join apprentices in a factory town as they debate the consequences of an evolutionary ancestry. We listen as Prince Albert reads aloud to Queen Victoria from a book that preachers denounced as blasphemy vomited from the mouth of Satan. And we watch as Charles Darwin turns its pages in the flea-ridden British Museum library, fearful for the fate of his own unpublished theory of evolution. Using secret letters, Secord reveals how Vestiges was written and how the anonymity of its author was maintained for forty years. He also takes us behind the scenes to a bustling world of publishers, printers, and booksellers to show how the furor over the book reflected the emerging industrial economy of print. Beautifully written and based on painstaking research, Victorian Sensation offers a new approach to literary history, the history of reading, and the history of science. Profusely illustrated and full of fascinating stories, it is the most comprehensive account of the making and reception of a book (other than the Bible) ever attempted. Winner of the 2002 Pfizer Award from the History of Science Society

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645

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University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

022615825X

ISBN 13

9780226158259

Controversy in Victorian Geology

The Cambrian-Silurian Dispute

By: James A. Secord

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Controversy in Victorian Geology

The Cambrian-Silurian Dispute

By: James A. Secord

Secord gives a dazzlingly detailed account of this scientific trench warfare and its social consequences. One ends up with a marvellous feeling for the major taxonomic enterprises in Darwin's younger day: mapping, ordering, conquering 'taming the chaos" of the strata. All of these of course had social and imperial ramifications; and Secord mentions geology's moral appeal (in supporting a divinely-stratified Creation) to a beleaguered elite intent on subduing the lower orders. Originally published in 1986. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

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385

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Princeton University Press

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ISBN 10

1400854660

ISBN 13

9781400854660

Visions of Science

Books and Readers at the Dawn of the Victorian Age

By: James A. Secord

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Visions of Science

Books and Readers at the Dawn of the Victorian Age

By: James A. Secord

The first half of the nineteenth century witnessed an extraordinary transformation in British political, literary, and intellectual life. There was widespread social unrest, and debates raged regarding education, the lives of the working class, and the new industrial, machine-governed world. At the same time, modern science emerged in Europe in more or less its current form, as new disciplines and revolutionary concepts, including evolution and the vastness of geologic time, began to take shape. In Visions of Science, James A. Secord offers a new way to capture this unique moment of change. He explores seven key books—among them Charles Babbage’s Reflections on the Decline of Science, Charles Lyell’s Principles ofGeology, Mary Somerville’s Connexion of the Physical Sciences, and Thomas Carlyle’s Sartor Resartus—and shows how literature that reflects on the wider meaning of science can be revelatory when granted the kind of close reading usually reserved for fiction and poetry. These books considered the meanings of science and its place in modern life, looking to the future, coordinating and connecting the sciences, and forging knowledge that would be appropriate for the new age. Their aim was often philosophical, but Secord shows it was just as often imaginative, projective, and practical: to suggest not only how to think about the natural world but also to indicate modes of action and potential consequences in an era of unparalleled change. Visions of Science opens our eyes to how genteel ladies, working men, and the literary elite responded to these remarkable works. It reveals the importance of understanding the physical qualities of books and the key role of printers and publishers, from factories pouring out cheap compendia to fashionable publishing houses in London’s West End. Secord’s vivid account takes us to the heart of an information revolution that was to have profound consequences for the making of the modern world.

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Page Count

329

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

022620331X

ISBN 13

9780226203317

A Most Amazing Scene of Wonders

Electricity and Enlightenment in Early America

By: James Delbourgo

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A Most Amazing Scene of Wonders

Electricity and Enlightenment in Early America

By: James Delbourgo

The first book to situate early American experimental science in the context of a transatlantic public sphere, A Most Amazing Scene of Wonders offers a view of the origins of American science and the cultural meaning of the American Enlightenment."--BOOK JACKET.

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Page Count

388

Publisher

Harvard University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0674022998

ISBN 13

9780674022997

Michael Faraday: A Very Short Introduction

By: Frank A.J.L James

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Michael Faraday: A Very Short Introduction

By: Frank A.J.L James

Known as the 'father' of electrical engineering, Michael Faraday is one of the best known scientific figures of all time. In this Very Short Introduction, Frank A.J.L James looks at Faraday's life and works, examining the institutional context in which he lived and worked, his scientific research, and his continuing legacy in science today.

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185

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199574316

ISBN 13

9780199574315

Governance and American Politics

Classic and Current Perspectives

By: James P. Pfiffner

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Governance and American Politics

Classic and Current Perspectives

By: James P. Pfiffner

This reader for the American government course provides articles and commentary from a broad array of political commentators and practitioners. Readings are arranged topically to match the typical organization of the American government course.

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Page Count

676

Publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P

Published Date

ISBN 10

015501000X

ISBN 13

9780155010000

Visions of Science

Books and Readers at the Dawn of the Victorian Age

By: James A. Secord

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Visions of Science

Books and Readers at the Dawn of the Victorian Age

By: James A. Secord

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329

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University of Chicago Press

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ISBN 10

022620331X

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9780226203317

Victorian Sensation

The Extraordinary Publication, Reception, and Secret Authorship of Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation

By: James A. Secord

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Victorian Sensation

The Extraordinary Publication, Reception, and Secret Authorship of Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation

By: James A. Secord

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645

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University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

022615825X

ISBN 13

9780226158259

Jesse James, My Father

The First and Only True Story of His Adventures Ever Written

By: Jesse James

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Jesse James, My Father

The First and Only True Story of His Adventures Ever Written

By: Jesse James

This book has been considered by academicians and scholars of great significance and value to literature. This forms a part of the knowledge base for future generations. So that the book is never forgotten we have represented this book in a print format as the same form as it was originally first published. Hence any marks or annotations seen are left intentionally to preserve its true nature.

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Page Count

194

Publisher

Alpha Edition

Published Date

ISBN 10

9354008488

ISBN 13

9789354008481

Jesse James, My Father: The First and Only True Story of His Adventures

By: Jesse James

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Jesse James, My Father: The First and Only True Story of His Adventures

By: Jesse James

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

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Page Count

190

Publisher

Wentworth Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

052638168X

ISBN 13

9780526381685

Book's by James A. Secord

Victorian Sensation

Victorian Sensation

Controversy in Victorian Geology

Controversy in Victorian Geology

Visions of Science

Visions of Science

A Most Amazing Scene of Wonders

A Most Amazing Scene of Wonders

Michael Faraday: A Very Short Introduction

Michael Faraday: A Very Short Introduction

Governance and American Politics

Governance and American Politics

Visions of Science

Visions of Science

Victorian Sensation

Victorian Sensation

Jesse James, My Father

Jesse James, My Father

Jesse James, My Father: The First and Only True Story of His Adventures

Jesse James, My Father: The First and Only True Story of His Adventures

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